Course Description
Exploration of various theoretical approaches to policy development and the application and consequence of current and past educational policies.
Athena Title
Theoretical Base for Ed Policy
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in EDAP 9030E
Prerequisite
(EDAP 8210 or EDAP 8210E) and (EDAP 9010 and EDAP 9010E)
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The student will: 1. Review the major phases of policy development. 2. Explain various theoretical views of policymaking processes, with special attention to understanding and assessing the epistemological assumptions made by each model. 3. Compare and contrast different theoretical viewpoints using selected policies that are tracked throughout the course. 4. Identify in current and past educational policies underlying enduring struggles in policymaking, and to notice shifts over time. 5. Understand how theoretical positions and understanding of social context shape policy development and underlie current and past educational policies.
Topical Outline
Rational Approaches to Policy Development The State as a Rational Actor Choice Theories Systems Theories Political Approaches to Policy Development Elite Models Pluralism Group interest models Institutional Approaches to Policy Development Organizational Processes Incrementalism Historical Approaches to Policy Development Sociological Approaches to Policy Development Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactionism Critical Theories (Feminism, Post-modernism, Post-structuralism) Enduring Struggles in Policymaking Professional versus Lay Control Federal, State, and Local Governance Pluralism, Individualism and Public Good (nation building, individual/group advancement) Outcomes: Equity versus Excellence Markets, Bureaucracy, or Deliberation?